Smooth Like Strait Prompt Favorite In Mathis Brothers Mile Sponsored by:
Smooth Like Strait winning the Mathis Brothers Mile under Umberto Rispoli
Cannon Thoroughbreds homebred Smooth Like Strait continued his dominance of the West Coast s 3-year-old male turf division in Saturday s Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., taking over from front-running Storm the Court in the stretch and winning comfortably by three-quarters of a length.
Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, the Midnight Lute colt trained by Michael McCarthy covered one mile on a firm turf course in 1:33.51 and paid $3.60 as the 4-5 favorite. Storm the Court held second by a half-length at 10-1 odds after setting fractions of :23.02, :46.49, 1:10.12 and 1:21.67. Whisper Not, the 5-2 second choice in the wagering, finished third in the field of seven 3-year-olds, a head in front of Field Pass, with Scarto fifth, Strongconstitution sixth and Heywoods Beach seventh.
Looking for Longshots in the Malibu and La Brea
Looking for Longshots in the Malibu and La Brea
23 December, 2020 11:26 PM
By J. Keeler Johnson ( Keelerman ) Twitter: @J Keelerman
Horse racing in the U.S.
will take its annual day off on Friday, Christmas Day. But the sport will
return with a bang on Saturday when Santa Anita Park opens for its prestigious winter
meet.
Three Grade 1 races are on
the schedule, including the
$300,000
Malibu (G1) and the
$300,000 La Brea
(G1). These important 7-furlong sprints serve as final opportunities for elite
3-year-olds to face their own age group before stepping up against open company
Smooth Like Strait Chases Another 2020 Stakes Win bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Smooth Like Strait, Field Pass Face Off In Mathis Brothers Mile Sponsored by:
Smooth Like Strait and Umberto Rispoli, shown winning the Twilight Derby
Trainer Michael McCarthy s Smooth Like Strait and Mike Maker s Field Pass headline Saturday s Grade 2, $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile (turf), one of five graded stakes on Santa Anita s opening day card this Saturday which has attracted a competitive field of seven sophomores.
A two-time graded winner, Smooth Like Strait comes off a narrow head defeat going a mile and one eighth on turf in the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on Nov. 28 and should relish the cutback in distance.